Patrick Elliot
Shaun InguanzoGame Reviews
December 4th 2006 10:15
Just a heads up on how I'm going about these game reviews (I probably should have done this at the start...):
I plan to go roughly in the order I've played games, or at least order of systems, leaving handhelds to last. So it's most likely going to be: SNES, PS, PS2, and then the GB/GBA/DS as I own or have easy access to those. There'll be a few PC and other console reviews, but not that many.
As for review fields, I think I might change them around here and there since some fields aren't really appropriate for some games or non-existent. The basic outline I'll be using though:
Story: The quality and complexity of the story as well as characters. In other words, whether it's something simple like "Kill Diablo. The End." or something more involving in the line of a novel.
Battle System: How battles are conducted. Is it real-time? Turn-based? How do the mechanics work?
Innovation: Anything new or unique (well, hard to tell unique sometimes, but you can come close) that the game brings to the industry/genre. I find that sometimes uniqueness arises from the way battle is conducted, so it's a bit difficult to decide whether to note the innovation there or here.
Graphics: Due to obvious technological differences between generations and between the likes of consoles and handhelds, comments on graphics will be scaled within the confines of the system's capabilities unless noted otherwise.
Sound: Whether the music was bland, impressive or downright annoying. This includes compositions, vocals as well as sound effects.
Replayability: How much the game offers in terms of playing again. Is there much you'll miss on a first playthrough? Are there multiple endings/perspectives you can gain from playing it? Would playing it again be a chore/boring?
Overall: A general summary and recommendation for tastes. I'll also mention anything else noteworthy, but that may also be done in the opening paragraph.
Score: A rating out of 10 signifying how much I enjoyed the game, taking into account all the previous fields as well as how it stacks up against other games I've played. Since there's been some confusion about "vicious" scoring, I'd like to clarify that unlike some big gaming sites that consider 70% a "bad game" and don't use the full scale, I do use the full scale. As a rough guideline:
10: A perfect (or near perfect) game. If there are any flaws... They're just too minor to be worth griping about. If you like this genre, you'll love the game. If you simply hate all games of this genre... there's still a high chance that you'll like this game.
9: A brilliant game, but there's just one or two things that could really be improved.
8: Pretty damn good game, with a few flaws here and there that just add up over time but not in a big way (or a glaringly bad element).
7: Pretty good game. It was fun and enjoyable, but there's a lot of small things that could be done to make it even better.
6: Good, but just good enough to be above average. If you like this genre of game, then you'll probably like it. If you don't like the genre, then you probably won't.
5: Average. Nothing great, nothing atrocious.
4: The game has a few good things, but it has more negative aspects than positive.
3: Getting very close to the garbage heap here. Unless you're a real fan of this type of game, don't bother since it'll probably annoy the hell out of you.
2: Die hard fans only.
1: Don't even think about it. See score 10? Think of 1 as if the developers made it their life's mission to torment you with a terrible, terrible waste of time and money that shouldn't eve be called a game.
There'll probably be more than a few obscure games in the reviews. Although 'classics' (up to you to decide how old this extends, but I consider classics to be SNES and older) have an instant nostalgia boost, I'll be trying to put nostalgia aside and consider the game as is, or as is compared to other games of the same nostalgia value.
All reviewed games (unless otherwise noted) have been completed.
I plan to go roughly in the order I've played games, or at least order of systems, leaving handhelds to last. So it's most likely going to be: SNES, PS, PS2, and then the GB/GBA/DS as I own or have easy access to those. There'll be a few PC and other console reviews, but not that many.
As for review fields, I think I might change them around here and there since some fields aren't really appropriate for some games or non-existent. The basic outline I'll be using though:
Story: The quality and complexity of the story as well as characters. In other words, whether it's something simple like "Kill Diablo. The End." or something more involving in the line of a novel.
Battle System: How battles are conducted. Is it real-time? Turn-based? How do the mechanics work?
Innovation: Anything new or unique (well, hard to tell unique sometimes, but you can come close) that the game brings to the industry/genre. I find that sometimes uniqueness arises from the way battle is conducted, so it's a bit difficult to decide whether to note the innovation there or here.
Graphics: Due to obvious technological differences between generations and between the likes of consoles and handhelds, comments on graphics will be scaled within the confines of the system's capabilities unless noted otherwise.
Sound: Whether the music was bland, impressive or downright annoying. This includes compositions, vocals as well as sound effects.
Replayability: How much the game offers in terms of playing again. Is there much you'll miss on a first playthrough? Are there multiple endings/perspectives you can gain from playing it? Would playing it again be a chore/boring?
Overall: A general summary and recommendation for tastes. I'll also mention anything else noteworthy, but that may also be done in the opening paragraph.
Score: A rating out of 10 signifying how much I enjoyed the game, taking into account all the previous fields as well as how it stacks up against other games I've played. Since there's been some confusion about "vicious" scoring, I'd like to clarify that unlike some big gaming sites that consider 70% a "bad game" and don't use the full scale, I do use the full scale. As a rough guideline:
10: A perfect (or near perfect) game. If there are any flaws... They're just too minor to be worth griping about. If you like this genre, you'll love the game. If you simply hate all games of this genre... there's still a high chance that you'll like this game.
9: A brilliant game, but there's just one or two things that could really be improved.
8: Pretty damn good game, with a few flaws here and there that just add up over time but not in a big way (or a glaringly bad element).
7: Pretty good game. It was fun and enjoyable, but there's a lot of small things that could be done to make it even better.
6: Good, but just good enough to be above average. If you like this genre of game, then you'll probably like it. If you don't like the genre, then you probably won't.
5: Average. Nothing great, nothing atrocious.
4: The game has a few good things, but it has more negative aspects than positive.
3: Getting very close to the garbage heap here. Unless you're a real fan of this type of game, don't bother since it'll probably annoy the hell out of you.
2: Die hard fans only.
1: Don't even think about it. See score 10? Think of 1 as if the developers made it their life's mission to torment you with a terrible, terrible waste of time and money that shouldn't eve be called a game.
There'll probably be more than a few obscure games in the reviews. Although 'classics' (up to you to decide how old this extends, but I consider classics to be SNES and older) have an instant nostalgia boost, I'll be trying to put nostalgia aside and consider the game as is, or as is compared to other games of the same nostalgia value.
All reviewed games (unless otherwise noted) have been completed.
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Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Comment by Sword Serenity
A Female Gamer
I still have various other gaming experiences to write about. Including being called a lesbian, a guy, and also nagged for months to play pen and paper D&
Then there's some miscellaneous ones.
If those run out? I'll deal with it if I get that far. =p
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Well if those run out, erm... they run out?
Comment by Sword Serenity
A Female Gamer
And yeah... They'll run out when they run out. But I'm sortof hinging on the notion that I'll have new stuff to add onto the list while I'm in the 'running out' phase.
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
You don't play PC games?
Comment by Sword Serenity
A Female Gamer
No Xbox 360 (though a friend of mine has one and I've played DOA4 on it so far)
No Wii... yet. But I will be getting one.
Hey dude, the PS3 isn't even out here yet. =p
(I'm still planning to get one at some point, but not for a good while thanks to all of Sony's blunders recently)